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Pakistani Navy

Crew of Egyptian-registered boat M.V. Suez who were held hostages by Somali pirates wave upon their arrival at the port city of Karachi. -AFP Photo

Unprecedented emotional scenes played out in Karachi on Thursday after the crew of the Egyptian ship MV Suez comprising Pakistanis, Indians and others hit the “land of pure” after being captured by Somalian pirates.

The heroes of the moment are Human Rights activist Ansar Burney, Pakistani Navy and Governor Sindh Ishrat ul Ibad Khan who through their determination and sincerity have turned impossible into possible.

Along with these persons it was actually the Pakistani media that not only initiated a campaign but kept a strong follow up on the developing story.

For the first time ever I have witnessed institutions of Pakistan through a well-coordinated effort have accomplished an objective. The NGO, Political Party, Pakistan Navy and the Media have done a marvelous job by pursuing an almost unachievable task that has helped nation rebuilding its soft image.

While watching the MV Suez News telecasted couple of month ago the only thing clicked into my mind was the role of political parties in this particular episode, I asked a question to myself whether the claimants of patriotism would ever get up to prove themselves although I never kept my hopes high since this issue needed to be handled by the Pakistani Armed forces and on Government level but to my surprise it was the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) that took notice of a little girl Laila’s appeal for saving her father and other crew members of the MV Suez that was captured by the pirates since 10 months.

As Pakistan is experiencing the worst form of governance in its history, its political forces, institutions and even judiciary are not performing upto the expectations of a common man yet the nation with full of potentials have shown its tendency to bounce back and resolved a highly sensitive issue without depending on any foreign aid.

The very example of MV Suez not only speaks volume about the general behavior of nation’s mindset but spread the message to the Pakistanis and world at large that the successful release of various nationals is a reflection of a broader and positive mentality of the entire Pakistani nation.

Now the world should reconsider its attitude towards Pakistan and accept it as a nation that has played a crucial role in fighting a war against terrorism on various fronts and in the struggle of achieving peace it has become a victim of terrorism.

As a Pakistani when I recall the entire MV Suez episode my trust on the heroes of my nation restores, it is also a lesson for the two big parties of Pakistan not to indulge in war of words but to come up with something concrete as it’s actually a job of Governments to show interest in International kidnapping cases and ensure release of their citizens.

I see the release of MV Suez hostages as blessing in disguise that has given us an opportunity to self reliance and think beyond caste, creed and color.